This morning I was awakened by the sun, as it gracefully waltzed through an opening of the draperies in my bedroom and kissed me smack dab in the middle of my forehead: “Muah!”  It feels so good! A whole new day? All for me? Another 24 hours to be thankful for….Thank you Lord! As I look through the blinds, I can see the sun in still dancing on the waters. It is so serene….I’m soaking up all this love from my heavenly father up above. He loves me so much and that I have to be thankful for each and every single day, not just on Thanksgiving Day. I’m usually up at about 5:30ish each morning and can’t really think of the last time I actually woke up with the sun.

It’s the day after Thanksgiving and everyone is probably out shopping due to the Black Friday frenzy. It’s not that serious of an event for me to be out in the wee hours of the night, waiting in line or walking around in a store full of customers, while I borrow the air that I breathe, due to the thickness of the crowd. Anyway….to each his own. I just don’t get down like that…..not my kinda party.

My kinda party is food! Yes I am a food enthusiast! My love for food did not and would not allow that ugly, evil, God forsaken endometriosis to prevent me from cooking for my guest. Endometriosis who? (Suck teeth). Can you believe that of all the days for endometriosis to show up, it chose Thanksgiving Day? The devil is a liar!

I was so engulfed and inundated with responsibilities that I didn’t realize that Thanksgiving was this week. I swore it was next Thursday. Earlier this week I had a conversation with my  friend Stacy and during the conversation I said, “Can you believe Thanksgiving is sneaking up on us already. It’s next Thursday!”

Stacy replied, “Are you kidding me? What next week Thursday? Thanksgiving is in two days, like tomorrow Thursday!”
Did I ever tell you that they created ‘LOL’ and ‘DWL’ and ‘Whoieee’ for me, because I laugh too much and too hard. Did I ever tell you that my laughter is infectious and loud? Well….this was one of those LOL moments for me. Laughter is surely good for the soul! Thank God I had been shopping for Thanksgiving in advance. Each time I went to the supermarket, I would pick up all the necessary Thanksgiving related food items. See, I knew the day was coming. I just thought it was next week.

The minute I hung up the phone and ended my conversation with Stacy, I ran as fast as I could to the deep freezer/chest freezer and began to empty out the ingredients for the menu that I had envisioned  for Thanksgiving Day: Duck, Chicken, Shrimp, Oxtails, Ham and Turkey. I had less that 48 hours to thaw and prep these food. In reality I only had 24 hours to work with and I still had to figure out how to adjust my schedule to accommodate time for sleep.

Let me tell you a little about my friend Stacy…
Stacy is my biggest cheerleader, my taste tester, my friend, my confidant, my marketing director, my publicist, my promoter, a speed taking diva (you have to listen carefully when she speaks, so that you don’t miss any vowels or syllables). Yes she speaks really fast. My friend Trish speaks fast too, but Stacy’s speech is more like Usain Bolt after he has eaten some of that yam.

I don’t think anyone appreciates my food more than Stacy. If I don’t call her to tell her what’s for dinner, she usually checks my Facebook page to see what’s cooking. Stacy’s spouse appreciates my food as well and he doesn’t even eat like that. So what does Stacy do? She broadcast to everyone that crosses her path and solicits my food without effort. She expresses her love for my food and explains how exemplary my food and home is. On occasions, I have even overheard her having conversations with her friends and stating that I am everything that she is not, and she has no idea how we managed to be friends. Those were her exact words. She speaks with such conviction in her words, that any and everyone who sets foot in close proximity to her, craves my food based on the detailed description that she provides them with. So of course, all of her friends all want to be my guests on Thanksgiving Day. And you know what? Stacy invited them all. My house is her house…we roll like that. There was no way possible, I was going to disappoint my guest all because of ugly ol’ endometriosis, which I have learned and is still in the process of mastering how to keep under control.

I managed to marinate the meats on the day before Thanksgiving and was really proud of myself. Before the night was over, uninvited endometriosis decided to rear its ugly head and disrupt my momentum. I ignored it, drank some natural spicy ginger tea, took a swig of black strap molasses and went to bed. I had made some beetroot-cucumber-lime-ginger juice unsweetened…and I really spiced it with the ginger. That was my medicine. Ginger does wonders for me, especially on those days. It kills the pain.

Long gone were the days when I was bed ridden for 7 days every single month. My gynecologist wanted to remove my uterus. I objected and made a conscious decision to change my diet, which I did by limiting processed food  meaning (no boxes of cereals, pop tarts, spaghetti sauces, cookies, etc). I prepare all my juices from scratch (I don’t buy store bought juices anymore). I eat natural foods from the earth, which includes an array of fruits and vegetables. I use fresh herbs and spices to flavor my dishes and I cook from scratch. I stopped drinking the 2%  pasteurized homogenized milk that I used to love so much, and now drink nut milks exclusively. I still eat meat and cheese, however, I simply limit those foods around my time of the month. To my repertoire, I have added organic apple cider vinegar “with the mother” in it” and black strap molasses. The health benefits are excellent and the two items assist me tremendously.

On Thanksgiving morning, I was thankful. I was grateful for life, health and strength and had no desire to cancel my dinner. So many people were anticipating my authentic dishes. I wouldn’t say that I was in pain, but it’s that annoying feeling right in the mid center of my body, that would have me resort to or rather simply relax in bed. But I couldn’t…I wouldn’t…I drank my ginger tea and kept going. First thing done was the turkey. I placed that on the table. Next was the jerk chicken done on the grill, then the ham, then the fruit/rum cake and banana-blueberry-pineapple-strawberry-pear bread pudding. As soon as each dish was perfectly executed, I transferred them to the table, so that I would have more room to work with. I continued to do so, until my body whispered, “relax sweetheart.”

I hadn’t cooked the rice and peas as yet. I was concerned that I would relax and possibly fall asleep, so I called Stacy and asked, “Would you bring some rice please? I have pretty much cooked everything but not the rice. Your crab mac and cheese is in the oven, but I’m gonna lay down now, I can’t go anymore.”  Stacy was concerned about the endometriosis and how I was doing. She didn’t know how to cook a huge pot of rice, but she knew how to cook little pots at a time and was willing to do so. I said, “Don’t worry hun, I’ll get some rest and do it later.” It was only about 1pm. I still had enough time.

I knew it was the Mushroom Oxtails, as well as the cream and cheese from the crab mac and cheese that was exacerbating my pain. I know that red meat feeds on fibroids, but it has become habitual to taste my food while I’m cooking. It allows me to decipher if a particular dish lacks flavor. Am I a sucker for punishment or what? In addition to that I had made an additional fruit/rum cake (just for me), so that I could eat while I cook without having to cut the one that I had prepared for dinner. So of course, I had to lie down.

I called my son D’Angelo and instructed him to put one of my clay trays in the oven. That was going to be my heating pad and it works wonder for me. I mean, it traps the heat like an oven does. I wrap it in a towel and lay it across my belly and pain is relieved in no time. D’Angelo massaged my feet while my other son Robert cleaned up the kitchen. Two hours passed and it was time for me to get back in the kitchen and finish up the other dishes.

I began to plate up the dishes and set the table. I sat down and carved the turkey and the ham. I cleaned up the kitchen, made the turkey gravy and cranberry sauce. At that point I decided that I had done enough for the day. I didn’t get a chance to roast the duck, grill the vegetables or make the peppered shrimp that my son Robert had requested, but I can always do that on another day, like maybe tomorrow. Whatever I had prepared was going to have to do. I wanted to be seated when my guest arrived. I tried to take a few photos of the table but just really needed to relax.. again. My photos are not as exceptional as they usually are but I still managed to take a few.

I called Stacy and told her that she would be serving the guest at the Thanksgiving dinner party. She was awesome! I swear she was a server in her past life. My guest were awesome too and they enjoyed everything that they were served. I received lots of compliments on my creativity in my authentic dishes as well as the decor in my home. Whenever I opened my mouth to contribute to the conversation, about the focal point in my home, Stacy just rolled her eyes like “please don’t get her started.” There were compliments to the chef and admiration for the setting of the table. One guest stated it was very “put together”. Another guessed said the food was cooked with so much love and she didn’t understand why the food seemed to be multiplying even after so many people had eaten. It was as if my pots were bottomless. I laughed at the multiplying of the food. Everyone had their fill. They couldn’t seem to get over the crab mac and cheese. “It is so filling!” they said. “It is the best macaroni and cheese I have ever eaten” they said. “Is that salmon in the mac and cheese mommy!”

After everyone had eaten, Stacy cleared the table and served up dessert. She was such an excellent hostess. She found all the dessert plates and served it up! What would I do without her? Then she rolled out all the wine glasses and served up the Stone Ginger Wine and  Moscato…oh I had some of that. She catered to everyone, while allowing me to relax. She even took credit for the banana-blueberry-pineapple-strawberry-pear bread pudding. When I asked her what her secret ingredient was, she replied: “bread.” Another LOL/DWL moment for me. We all had a blast: Stacy’s spouse and his friends being comedians for the night, my nephew Khai eating up his food like a good baby boy, my other guests going back and forth to the kitchen, and my dog Rocco with his overly friendly self. I darn sure had a grand time and would do it all over again… but this time I will need at least three days notice before Thanksgiving. I certainly love my life!

Endometriosis kick rocks! You have no power over me!